Saturday, July 14, 2007

THIS MUCH CAN BE AGREED UPON, NFL SUPERSTAR PAT TILLMAN ENLISTED IN THE MILITARY, WENT TO AFGHANISTAN AND WAS KILLED.

THIS MUCH ANY NON-COMATOSE PERSON CAN AGREE ON, TILLMAN WAS KILLED BY SOLDIERS IN HIS OWN DIVISION AND THE WHITE HOUSE PUT FORWARD A PROPAGANDA PUSH TO USE THE HORRIBLE DEATH TO SELL MORE WAR, LIED REPEATEDLY IN PUBLIC AND ONLY HAD TO SEMI-COME CLEAN DUE TO THE HARD WORK AND COURAGE OF THE TILLMAN FAMILY.

THE WHITE HOUSE HAS DECIDED THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW ENDS SOMEWHERE ABOUT A MILE FROM BULLY BOY'S PASSING FANCY OF ANY MINUTE AND THAT THEY ARE NOT ACTUALLY A PART OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THEREFORE NOT RESPONSIBLE TO THE PEOPLE.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ROBERT GATES TOLD THESE REPORTERS, "DON'T EVEN TRY TO DRAG ME INTO THIS. DON'T EVEN. I WASN'T EVEN HERE BACK THEN. WHEN I JOINED I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A GROWN UP COMING IN TO RIGHTEN THE SHIP. NOW I LEARN I AM SURROUNED BY CROOKS!"

Starting with war resistance. The Progressive's Hidden History Of The United States (available in calander form) notes that on this day in 1863, "Draft riots began in New York City, leaving 1,000 dead over four days." Ehren Watada is the first commissioned officer to public refuse deployment to Iraq. Currently, he is waiting while the appeals process determines whether he will have to face a second court-martial and, if so, whether Judge Toilet (aka John Head) will be allowed to preside over it again. While this goes on, people continue to demonstrate their support for Watada. Last Friday, we noted a rally held in San Francisco in support of Watada. Ryan Baladad (Asian Week) informs, "Members from the various groups, including Aisan Pacific Islanders Resist and the Watada Support Committee, took turns speaking in support of the Japanese lieutenant. Supporters held signs that read, 'Refuse Illegal War,' 'Bush lied, People Died' and showed photos of Watada in uniform. Malcolm Yeung of the Asian Law Caucus called the Army's actions 'frankly reprehensible' and said the case 'chills free speech'." Baladad closes with this statement from Rev. Norman Fong (Chinatown Presbyterian Church), "There shouldn't be another trial; they messed up the first time. We're proud of Lt. Watada."

Meanwhile, who is Steve Yoczik? The War Resisters Support Campaign explains, "Steve arrived in Toronto on November 25th, 2006. He trained in communications at Fort Gordon, Georgia. After a few months there, he began to realize that the decision he'd made to join the Army was a serious mistake and that trading 4 years of his life for the opportunity to have college paid for was not an agreeable enough trade. Also after seeing pictures of wounded or killed Iraqi civilians (and combatants) as well as stories from soldiers that had been to Iraq and Afghanistan, he knew without a doubt that he did not want to be involved in the war. Halfway through training, the 'job' he'd been signed on for was cancelled, and 'joblees' people in this particular war zone go on patrols and kick in doors, so Stephen prepared a last-ditch effort to come to Canada, as all other attempts to leave the Army 'legitimately' were exhausted. Since arriving in Toronto, Steve has adjusted fairly weel, and is being careful in the decisions he makes in life now, as his Army expereience has taught him that signatures hold a lot of power . . ."

Yesterday, Bully Boy went on and on, desperately attempting to stretch the definition of progress in yet another attempt to fool the American people. How bad did the spin and lies get? Kenneth R. Bazinet (New York Daily News) informs, "Even the White House was concerned Bush overstepped with his upbeat war talk, sending spokesman Tony Snow out to talk to the cable news outlets to clarify the President's remarks. 'The President isn't saying we're winning. He says we're in a fight. He says we cannot afford not to win,' Snow told Fox News." Tony Snow need not worry, reality will always Fact Check the Bully Boy upside his face. How are things with the Iraqi Parliament? Joshua Partlow and Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reports, "Iraqi politicians on Thursday struck a more pessimistic tone about Iraq than did the White House assessment, and said the deadlock between warring Sunni and Shiite factions makes major political progress unlikely in coming months." Well, as least those Iraqi troops are coming along nicely, right? Karen DeYoung (Washington Post) informs, "Despite stepped-up training, the readiness of the Iraqi military to operate independently of U.S. forces has decreased since President Bush's new strategy was launched in January, according to the White House progress report released yesterday." And try to find out the hard figures on this from the Pentagon, as DeYoung did, and be informed that's "classified information." Classified, apparently, on the grounds that Bully Boy is an incompetent.

And on the January 20th attack in Karbala that killed 1 US soldier immediately, wounded three and saw four kidnapped (all of whom would later turn up dead), Gregg Zoroya (USA Today) reveals the army's internal investigation has found:

Iraqi police suddenly vanished from the government compound before the shooting started.Attackers, evidently briefed on how U.S. forces would defend themselves, bottled up more than three dozen soldiers in a barracks and headquarters complex using a combination of smoke and fragment grenades and satchel charges to blow up Humvees.Gunmen knew exactly where to find and abduct U.S. officers.Iraqi vendors operating a PX and barbershop went home early.A back gate was left unlocked and unguarded.Investigators recommended several changes to toughen defensive positions, including the installation of closed-circuit cameras to provide better early warnings, "duress devices" that can allow overrun outposts to signal headquarters, and requirements that any arriving convoy provide identification.

Now how do you suppose that got left out of Bully Boy's attempt to sell the continuation of the illegal war? In more reality the Bully Boy Never Told You, Robert Burns (AP via Los Angeles Times) reports that yesterday's White House progress report "strongly implies that the administration believes its military strategy will take many more months to meet its goals." And really driving home the lack of progress in Iraq, Mike Drummond and Hussein Khalifa (McClatchy Newspapers) tell the story of Nawal Na'eem Karim whose 18-month-child has learned to cry "Talaq inanan! Talaq inana!" ("Bullets here! Bullets here!"). Needless to say, the mother tells the reporters she just wants the US to leave. Of course, Bully Boy would probably get that dopey grin on his face (as when a woman explained she had to work two jobs) and say, "That's wonderful."

Meanwhile, Congressional Dems try to put one over on the public -- again, and it's the same shell game. From Democracy Now! today:

House Iraq Pullout Bill Leaves Thousands of Troops BehindThe House has approved a measure that would begin withdrawing combat troops from Iraq within the next three months. The final vote was two hundred twenty-three to two-hundred and one, mostly along party lines. Before the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged lawmakers to vote "yes."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "Let us pass this bill and those that will follow in the coming weeks and provide the new direction on Iraq that the American people demand and that is so urgently needed. I urge a 'yes' vote on the Skelton bill."

Ohio Congressmember Dennis Kucinich was the lone anti-war Democrat to vote against the bill. The measure would remove most combat troops by April of next year but still leave tens of thousands soldiers behind.

As Amy Goodman noted above "leaves tens of thousands soldiers behind." And that's provided Bully Boy doesn't reclassify the ones that would be set to leave. Pushing the non-existant link between 9-11 and Iraq is a thread he picked up again yesterday. He could follow the Pelosi measure (if it passed) and reclassify "combat troops" as troops who will be fighting terrorists ("al Qaeda!") and none have to leave. He could also declare that the illegal war is over and that 160,000 US troops need to remain to maintain "police operations" which would mean no troops leave. It's the con game they pulled in March, credit Goodman with telling it straight and not sugar coating it.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

THEY CAN'T SHUT UP ABOUT SENATOR CRAZY'S KAMAKAZI SELF-DESTRUCT CAMPAIGN.

WORSE YET, THEY CAN'T LET GO OF THE FACT THAT THEY CREATED THE MYTH OF JOHN MCCAIN.

WHEN THESE REPORTERS WERE FINALLY ABLE TO GET MATT FRIE UP OFF HIS KNEES (HE MUST HAVE SERVICED SENATOR CRAZY ALL DAY), HE RINSED, SPIT AND EXPLAINED HE DID MEAN IT, NO ONE COULD QUESTION JOHN MCCAIN'S WAR RECORD. APPARENTLY, THE VIETNAMESE HAVE FALLEN OFF THE FACE OF THE PLANET OR ARE NOW CLASSIFIED AS "NOBODY."

YOU HAD TO CLASSIFY THEM AS SUCH TO BUILD UP JOHN MCCAIN. THE MAN WHO SAID "I HATED THE G**KS. I WILL HATE THEM AS LONG AS I LIVE" WASN'T CALLED OUT ON THAT CRAP IN 2000 WHEN HE SAID IT. WHICH MEANS EVERYONE POLISHING HIS TIRED ASS SHOULD BE ASKED IF THEY STAND BY THOSE REMARKS WHICH WERE RACIST, OFFENSIVE AND HATEFUL.

Starting with war resistance. Mark and Louise Zwick (Houston Catholic Worker via Spero News) report on the beatification of Franz Jagerstatter (October 27, 2007) by the Catholic Church. Jagerstatter became a war resister when drafted into the Nazi army who "believed that he could not be a soldier in an unjust war sponsored by a government determined on imperialist expansionsim and slaughter of innocents, presenting itself as a substitute for religion which saw and treated his Church as the enemy." The Zwicks tie Jagerstatter's stance then to those resisting today and note the case of Camilo Mejia in detail and conclude, "Martha's concern as she had heard about this soldier's conscientious objection was that her young son not be put in such a situation. She knew that at present there is no military draft, but that poor Hispanic youth in the United States are recruited early into ROTC Army training with the promise of assistance later with college tuition. Martha vowed to never allow her son to participate in ROTC. This may not be easy to achieve. High schools in lower-income neighborhood which serve Mexican Americans and immigrant youth are saturated with the ROTC presence. The local public school for 6th to 8th graders has ROTC as one of the electives. When one student who stayed at Casa Juan Digo transferred in during the middle of the year, the student was placed in ROTC simply because the classes of all other electives were filled. The irony is that the children of the undocumented, despised by many simply for being undocumented, are being sent to fight U.S. wars in foreign lands." Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted today of Mejia, "He was the first US soldier court-martialed for desertion, was ultimately sentenced to a year in jail." In May, Camilo Mejia's Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia (The New Press) was released allowing him to tell his story of what he observed in Iraq and how it changed him. To the issue the Zwick's raise, Mejia was not a US citizen. In fact, the military was supposed to release him because he had completed his eight-year contract and Senator Ben Nelson had caused noise on this issue (thanks to the concerns Camilo's mother raised with him). The military's response was ridiculous ("We're not discharging fat people, are we?") and desperate (shoving off papers for citizenship -- which Camilo was not interested in). While on leave in the US, Mejia attempted to figure out how to get the US military to comply with their own regulations. First, he was told he would have to return to Iraq in order to be discharged, then he was told no discharge was happening regardless and finally he was ordered to board the plane back to Iraq. Instead, Mejia went underground, refusing to continue fighting in an illegal war. At the start of the illegal war, Stephen Funk refused to go to Iraq -- a very important and brave stand. Mejia is the first known member of the military to serve in Iraq and refuse to return. Again, he tells his story in Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia (list price $24.99) including his court-martial and what he felt and thought upon being sentenced.

The first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq is Ehren Watada. Speaking with E. Ethelbert Miller (Foreign Policy in Focus), David Mura (poet, playwright, critic, performance artist and soon to be novelist -- Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire) notes the No-No Boys of WWII (Japanese-American males who bravely refused to serve while their relatives and peers were interned for the 'crime' of race) and states, "I feel that the current case of Lat. Ehren K. Watada, who refused to go to Iraq because he believes it is an illegal and unjust war, ought to be seen against the backdrop of this history. His position as a soldier and his actions of civil protest, reflect the legacy both of the 442nd and of the No-No Boys."

And in Iraq, a US service member has publicly refused to continue fighting in the illegal war. Eric Ruder (Socialist Worker) notes, "Army Spc. Eleonai 'Eli' Israel was stationed at Camp Victory in Baghdad when he told his commanding officers June 19 that he would no longer participate in the illegal and unjust war on Iraq. 'We are now violating the people of this country in ways that we would never accept on our own soil,' said Eli."

So today Juan Gonzalez and Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) did what they usually do but tried to credit The Nation for finally doing something four years and four months after the illegal war started. Good manners must have prevented Gonzalez and Goodman from pointing out the obvious -- they've been doing -- for years -- what the overly praised article half-assed does today. The lengthy, weak ass article by The Nation will be addressed this evening ("And the war drags on . . ."). Today, it allowed the centrist (Democratic Party cheerleader and sometime video spokesperson) to get on Democracy Now! and the utter more than fifty lines more (check the transcript) than Garett Reppenhagen who actually is worth listening to. Reppenhagen: "So the contrast is very real, and the division, once you're there and you're being told to give these people democracy and they're shooting at you and trying to kill you, it creates a lot of tension, and the American soldiers begin to hate the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people hate the American soldiers. And the bottom line is, we're not seen as peacekeepers. US forces in Iraq are no longer seen as peacekeepers by the Iraqi people and most of the Muslim world. We're seen as occupiers and invaders, and that undermines our ability to keep the peace there, it undermines our ability to do our jobs, and it undermines our national security here at home. So right now it's a very complex situation, and the animosity is growing. And there's no cure other than removing ourselves from Iraq." From the broadcast:

SGT. DUSTIN FLATT: Yes. The innocent deaths happened at different times, different places and different occasions. Convoys were commonplace. The only incident I have firsthand knowledge of was a convoy that was actually not our convoy. It was a convoy had just driven by us. And an Iraqi vehicle with a mother, three daughters and an older teenage son who was driving the car were following a convoy too close. It got too close, and they shot into the car. It was a warning shot, and it ended up killing the mother. And they actually pulled the car over, or the son pulled the car over right next to us, and we just happened to be near a hospital in Mosul at the time. And the mother was obviously dead, and the children were just crying and asking if they could actually get into the hospital.

AMY GOODMAN: So the mother was dead. The three little girls, what happened?

SGT. DUSTIN FLATT: Right. The three little girls, we just -- we took them and just -- the last time I saw them they were on the side of the road just crying. They had no idea what had just happened. And it was funny -- it was with another unit -- it was a unit actually that we were attached to in Mosul, and on the back of their last Humvee in the convoy, they had a sign that read, "Stay back 100 meters." And after that, we took our interpreter, our Iraqi interpreter, up to the sign to see how far away he could read it, and he had to be within about thirty or forty feet before he could read it.

[. . .]

STAFF SGT. TIMOTHY JOHN WESTPHAL: The terror that I saw on the patriarch's face, like I said, that really was the turning point for me. I imagined in my mind what he must have been thinking, understanding that he had lived under Saddam's brutal regime for many years, worried about -- you know, hearing stories about Iraqis being carried away in the middle of the night by the Iraqi secret service and so forth, to see all those lights, all those soldiers with guns, all the uniform things that we wear, as far as the helmet, the night vision goggles, very intimidating, very terrifying for the man. He screamed a very guttural cry that I can still hear it every day. You know, it was just the most awful, horrible sound I've ever heard in my life. He was so terrified and so afraid for his family. And I thought of my family at that time, and I thought to myself, boy, if I was the patriarch of a family, if soldiers came from another country, came in and did this to my family, I would be an insurgent, too.

JUAN GONZALEZ: And you say that that was a turning point for you. In what way?

STAFF SGT. TIMOTHY JOHN WESTPHAL: It was a turning point for me in the sense that -- you know, prior to going into Iraq, both Dustin and myself, we talked about this many times in the days leading up to the war. We came into Iraq after the initial invasion, so we had a chance to see a little bit of the buildup to the war, as well as the actual invasion piece. And several of us, including Dustin and myself, were very much opposed to the Iraq war. However, we chose to go, number one, out of a sense of loyalty to each other and our unit; second, because we were hoping as leaders, as combat leaders, leaders of soldiers, we would be able to influence those young men to make good decisions and not do things like kill indiscriminately or let their emotions get into their decision-making abilities. So that's why we chose to go. And again, because this is our profession, we were very proud of what we were doing, even though we opposed the mission itself, are proud to serve with our brothers and to be a part of something like that.

However, that night -- and that was about halfway through my yearlong tour -- that night I really admitted to myself -- and it was a very hard thing to do, but I admitted to myself that America is not the good guy in this thing. And, you know, if you factor in that you have these young men who most of them are high-school-educated -- some have a bit of college, some do have college degrees -- but the education level, for the most part, is high school graduates only.

Staying on IVAW, Adam Kokesh's site carries the message that Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr.'s kangaroo hearing has been delayed from this month to August with Yearwood noting, "It has been incredible to hear that so many of you have made plans to come support me as I challenge the Air Force's attempt to discredit me and our work for peace. My request for a delay has been granted so I may better prepare my case and raise funds for my legal defense. We will publish the new date as soon as it is determined and along with our plans for action." The kangaroo hearing is supposed to address the laughable allegation that Rev. Yearwood's actions have been "clearly inconsistent with the interest of national security" when, in fact, his work since being discharged (discharged from service, he's currently in the IRR which needs no discharge) has been on ending the illegal war including Make Hip Hop Not War.

War, war and more war, endless war, is all the Bully Boy understands which is why the White House released [PDF warning] "Initial Benchmark Assessment Report" today. And though it won't rival the latest Harry Potter, it certainly belongs on the fiction list. David S. Cloud and John F. Burns (New York Times) explained this morning that the report would "qualify some verdicts by saying that even when the political performance of the Iraqi government has been unsatisfactory, it is too early to make final judgements" and that this qualification "will enable it [the White House] to present a more optimistic assessment than if it had provided the pass-fail judgement sought by Congress." Which may be a nice way of noting that, unlike Bully Boy's No Child Left Behind, there is no standardized testing, no standardized grading and no deadlines. The system that's good enough for his attack on America's public schools is not to be utilized when addressing his illegal war of choice.

CBS and AP report that the Bully Boy declared today, "I believe we can succed in Iraq and I know we must." We? But it's probably an improvement on his verbal equivalent of painting a bulls eye on the back of every US service member a few years back with the taunt of "Bring it on." William Douglas (McClatchy Newspapers) notes that the fudged/qualified report reveals "only eight of 18 benchmarks" can be stretched enough to indicate even some progress. Douglas also notes that Bully Boy sees the Initial Assessment as an ink blot which can be interpreted in any way depending upon where you're coming from -- proof positive that we've got a Stoner in the White House? 2008 presidential candidate and Senator Joe Biden peels off the best one liner of the day, "This progress report is like the guy's who's falling from a 100-story building and says halfway down that everything's fine." Karen DeYoung and Peter Baker (Washington Post) update their article in this morning's paper on the report and note that the White House sees "some positive movement in eight of the 18 congressional benchmarks" while, at the same time, dispatching Stephen Hadly (US National security advisor) and Condi Rice (US Secretary of State and Anger) to Congress to role play House Minority Whip for both houses apparently. CNN's Ed Henry (text and video) observes, "The president is pleading for more patience. He's not really oferring a new prescription to deal with the violence on the ground in Iraq. Instead he's urging lawmakers to give him until September to see if the current troop increase will work -- but a growing number of his fellow Republicans are telling him time is running out and they want a course change sooner than September." Which is a nice way of putting. Patience was when he asked for it (over and over, every year of the illegal war). The report he's pushing is more half-truths and outright lies which, if you think back to how the illegal war was sold, isn't at all surprising. Bully Boy has come full circle: Lied to get his war, must lie to keep it. And what's with this "Congressional benchmarks"? Paul Richter (Los Angeles Times) rightly notes: "The Bush administration's decision to set benchmarks . . . When they began publicizing the benchmarks a year ago, addministration officials . . . President Bush turned to benchmarks amid intensifying criticism from Congress and plummeting public support. Benchmarks offered a way to counter congressional demands for timetables and to dampen the midterm election rage that ultimately cost his party control of Congress." The administration, stealing from the James Baker Circle Jerk, grabbed the imposed (upon Iraqis) benchmarks and ran with them. They own them now.

Starting with war resistance. "The army takes the position, of course, I mean they wouldn't say this directly, but they need to make an example of somebody like Lt. Watada because if Lt. Watada was able to walk away from this it would send, for the army's perspective, a very bad signal to the other soldiers," Kenneth Kagan explained to Margaret Prescod on KPFK's Sojourner Truth Tuesday. Kagan and James Lobsenz are Ehren Watada's civilian attorneys. Ehren Watada? The first commissioned officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq (June 2006) who was in the midst of a court-martial (February 2006) when Judge Toilet (aka John Head) declared a mistrial over the objections of defense (and over the realities of the law). Speaking with Prescod about Judge Toilet's ruling last Friday (Judge Toilet would not recuse himself and said there was no double-jeopardy at play), Kagan explained that the Court of Appeals decided June 29th to allow Head to rule before they did. Kagan called Judge Toilet's ruling "a necessary step" to allow the case to be reviewed by a higher court. Army Court of Criminal Appeals would be the next court on the chain with the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (which covers all branches of the military "and those judges are civilians. They have 15 year terms and they are not part of the military"). Kagan stated,

"I think that the law is solidly on our side it is just that this is a highly politicized and very closely watched case" and that he was optimistic about their case. Margret Prescod asked about the timeline and Kagan revealed that there is a good chance, due to the appeals process, that should a court-martial go through, it could be as late as next year before it starts.

So every now and then the lie makes it into print that the US military doesn't care a thing about self-checkouts. This despite the fact that they (from the base in Kentucky) were the ones calling the police and instructing them of where Kyle Snyder was supposed to speak next on his West Coast speaking tour in 2006. This despite the fact that they instructed Canadian police to arrest Snyder in February 2007. This despite that two were sent into Canada and posed as Canadian police when showing up on the doorstep of Winnie Ng . . .

And round and round the lies wrap around the spire but no one's ever supposed to notice. Notice.

Lance Herring may or may not be a war resister. He apparently self-checked out and staged a mountain disappearance last year. KMGH Denver reports that his parents' home was searched yesterday. Why? On "a tip from the military that Hering might be at his parents' home". Vanessa Miller (Boulder Daily Camera) reports that the police searched the home for over an hour ("acting on a tip from the military") and notes that his friend Powers has stated "Hering staged his disappearance because his life was in danger because of something he knew about his fellow Marines. Hering is a lance corporal in the Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment based in California -- the same unit that had eight soldiers charged with conspiracy, kidnapping and murder of an Iraqi civilian in Hamdania, Iraq." Lance Hering's family has created several sites -- here and here -- the latter's top post by his father states: "Lance, where ever your might be, we are on your side. We wish we couldl make contant and send what you may need."

So the lie that the US military isn't interested? Well if your name was Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins and Bill Lee and you served on the Yakima Herald-Republic and wrote today's editorial "Military has more pressing business than tracing deserters" then you would be a DUMB ASS. That's DUMB ASS Michael Shepard, DUMB ASS Sarah Jenkins and DUMB ASS Bill Lee. No wonder The Seattle Times Company alternately talks of selling off the loser paper or of doing a clean sweep of the paper. Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins and Bill Lee are DUMB ASSES in other ways as well but we just went over this topic yesterday. All the points noted apply to Shepard, Jenkins and Lee.

And on the topic of dumbnes, moving from village idiots to global ones, Bully Boy underwhelmed in Cleveland, Ohio yeterday as he spoke on the topic of the illegal war doing his usual song and dance. Carolyn Lochhead (San Francisco Chronicle) reports that Bully Boy says the escalation "is only beginning" and reminds everyone that, in December 2006, Bully Boy bragged to the press that the issue of withdrawal is "not going to face this government. . . . We've mad that part clear. It'll face future governments." Jeff Zeleny and Sheryl Gay Stoblerg (New York Times) note that Bully Boy is saying that there must be patience (his mantra whenever he screws up) until the September report to Congress. Michael Abramowitz (Washington Post) notes Bully Boy spoke to "a friendly audience" and quotes Bully saying, "I believe that it's in the nation's interests to give the commander a chance to fully implement his operations. And I believe Congress ought to wait for General Petraus to come back and give us an assessment of the strategy that he's putting in place before they make any decisions." AFP notes that the Bully-flop took place "days before an interim assessment is due on the operation to surge 30,000 more troops into Iraq, amid reports that the Iraqi government has met none of its required political and military targets."

These 'targets' or 'benchmarks' are the imposed ones set by the US that have nothing to do with improving the lives of Iraqi but do include things such as the theft of Iraqi oil via a hydrocarbon law. On that proposed legislation, CBS and AP note, "Kurdish leaders on Wednesday spoke out against a key oil law, raising further doubts over efforts to pass one of the political benchmarks sought by the U.S. at a time when the Bush administration is trying to fend off critics of its Iraq policy." As Patrick Cockburn (Independent of London via CounterPunch) observes, "The benchmarks the Iraqi government is meant to achieve in exchange for US support were never realistic and have more to do with American than Iraqi politics."

Howard La Franchi (Christian Science Monitor) reveals that the White House was "caught off guard" and "scrambling" to get control of an issue that they apparently didn't know they had lost. Attempting to gain control included, as Susan Milligan and Michael Krandish (Boston Globe) report, involved sending Dick Cheney to Congress in an attempt to charm members of Congress. At risk, as Anna Mulrine (US News and World Report) noted yesterday, was the $649 billion for the Defense Authorization Bill which would continue to fund the illegal and expensive war. Anne Flaherty (AP) noted today that private conversations between Bully Boy and Republican members of Congress were on the need to 'change course' (which is not the same "End the war"). Therefore, it was no surprise the way the vote for the Webb Amendment went today. Noam N. Levey (Los Angeles Times) explains, "Democrats fell four short of the 60-vote super-majority demanded by Republican leaders for an amendment to the defense authorization bill now being debated in the Senate." It should be noted Republicans aren't the only ones posing. The much touted Webb amendment would only pull US 'combat troops' out of Iraq -- those doing training, police work or fighting terrorism would remain. If it seems familiar, yes this was the nonsense of the Pelosi-Reid measures.

From one scandal to another. Robert Kubey (FAIR's Extra!, May/June 2007, pp. 14-15) reports on the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 (passed October 16, 2007) which gave the Bully Boy amazing powers and shredded the Constitution, "giving Bush -- and all future U.S. presidents -- new and sweeping powers to use the U.S. military anywhere in the United States, virtually as he sees fit -- for disaster relief, crowd control, suppression of public disorder, or any 'other condition' that might arise." With guest Frank Morales, Bonnie Faulkner explored this issue today on her program Guns and Butter -- how it could be used, when it could be implemented and those KRB/Halliburton emergency pens we're all supposed to forget about (we've covered that already, as have Robert Parry, Margaret Kimberley, Bonnie Faulkner and others). [Note the archived broadcast of Guns and Butter usually goes up at the show's website on Thursdays.] Kubey notes that the law is opposed by the Adjutants General Association, the National Governors Association, the National Guard Association and others. The Extra! link is text the Guns and Butter is audio.

CARRY ON? NO, IT WAS NOT ABOUT YET ANOTHER FUNDRAISING CYCLE WHERE SENATOR CRAZY BARELY MANAGED TO PULL AHEAD OF RON PAUL AND YOUR AUNT JODY WHO KEEPS SAYING "P.T.A. PRESIDENT! I'M RUNNING FOR P.T.A. PRESIDENT!" THOUGH, TRUTH BE TOLD, SENATOR CRAZY COULD PROBABLY EARN MORE CAMPAIGN MONEY STANDING ON THE STREET AND BEGGING FOR QUARTERS AT THIS RATE.

SENATOR CRAZY TOLD THE PRESS, "IT WON'T EFFECT ME ONE BIT. NOW I CAN REALLY GO WILD. IN FACT, AS A FUNDRAISER, I AM ANNOUNCING MY NEW LINE OF VHS TAPES ENTITLED SENATOR CRAZY GONE WILD. YOU WILL SEE ME TOPLESS, YOU WILL SEE ME DRUNK. YOU WILL SEE ME TOPLESS AND DRUNK. I REALLY THINK THAT WILL HELP MY CAMPAIGN."

Starting with war resistance. Today Lynn Franey (The Kansas City Star) deploys to attack war resisters with half-trues and every other device in a bad reporters bag. Kyle Snyder and Ricky Clousing are misreported but Franey can't get anything right writing, at one point, that Snyder and Clousing were AWOL for 30 days and "[a]fter a month they became, officially, deserters." Really? Who told Franey that the Deserter Fairy? No, that's now when Snyder and Clousing's classification changed. Legally it can be (though it doesn't have to be). But people do not move automatically from one roll to the next. Anyone who decides to self-checkout knows the lengthy wait before you even show up on the AWOL list. Only Franey is confused.

Franey's also confused when repeating official army numbers on checkouts. On March 19, 2007 -- someone tell Franey -- Nancy Mullane broke the news on NPR that the US army was undercounting the number of self-checkouts for the 2006 period. Mullane reported, "Instead of 3100 deserters [for 2006], the real number may be closer to 5,000. That's according to analysts within the Army's personnel division at the Pentagon and at the Fort Knox desertion information center. Both reached that 5,000 figure by adding on soldiers who deserted and then were discharged from the Army throughout the year." Franey elects to repeat the count and play dumb.

Franey also suffers from some mistaken belief that Snyder is the client of Jim Fennerty. Fennerty was Snyder's attorney when Snyder decided to return to the US (from Canada). That was October 2006 and someone screwed that up. Fennerty was the profession, the attorney, maybe he should step up and own the blame? Snyder attempted to turn himself in (at the wrong place, thanks Jim Fennerty) as part of an alleged deal Fennerty had made with the military. Fennerty then sailed off leaving Snyer to deal with the Fennerty pieced together deal that fell immediately apart. Snyder self-checked out again. He toured the country speaking out and, here's the thing, he really wasn't in that close of contact to Fennerty. When he returned to Canada -- and he did return -- he really didn't need an American attorney. He's got a refugree application in process. In addition, Snyder is married to a Canadian woman. Kyle Snyder's attorney is Jeffry House but somehow Lynn Franey (rhymes with Lynn Cheney) manages to miss that and every other aspect of the story.

Ehren Watada is also in the news as the US military attempts to figure out whether they'll embrace the Constitution or shred it. Courage to Resist (at Political Affairs magazine) observes that Tom Brookhart and Gerri Haynes, of Seattle Veterans for Peace, have received subpoenas to testify in the intended second court-martial of Watada. Judge Toilet -- John Head -- ruled a mistrial, over defense objections, in the Feb. court-martial and at issue is whether the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the land or not.

The topic of the day. The big topic in the United States. What to do about Iraq!!!!

First, let's note that 83 female service members have died in the illegal war -- 83 members of the so-called coalition. Why note that first? Apparently someone damn well needs to. Today on CBS' The Early Show, it was bad enough to hear alleged news person Harry Smith discussing "guys" and only became worse as White House spokesperson Tony Snow rushed to agree with him about the "guys" in Iraq ("Snow Discusses Iraq Report"). Both were referring to the US military and the service members in Iraq. They do grasp that males and females are stationed there, right? Maybe not. US Senator and 2008 presidential wanna be Joe Biden was on immediately after Snow and Smith and, speaking with CBS' Hannah Storm, made it clear in his opening remarks that he grasped the make up of today's military.

Biden then went on to argue that no conflict like Iraq ever is resolved with federalism and that the country should be split up. The country would be Iraq and, of course, Biden doesn't serve in the Iraq Parliament so what he thinks, honestly, really shouldn't matter. Iraqis should be determining their own fate. If that means splitting up their country, that's their choice. But the region was already split and grouped before by the British at the start of the 20th century and that didn't work out so well, now did it?

So the big topic is the report that the White House has been working on, the one they would be delivering to Congress. That's what had Tony Snow trying to look all agreeable this morning on network TV as he said of the illegal war that began in March of 2003. Yes, he was talking of the escalation which he hailed as a 'plan' and cautioned it hadn't been allowed the proper length of time to play out. Tony Snow and the White House better grasp that there are no more longterm plans of any kind. The American people turned against the war in 2005, the opinion hardened and grew to the point that now approximately 70% of Americans are against it. But Tony Snow, speaking for the White House, wants to give the illegal war 'more time' because the 'plan' needs 'more time.' The plan?

Escalation. Do the same thing but with more US troops. That passes for a 'plan' with the current White House.

It's a funny sort of 'plan' and one that allows the likes of John Howard, prime minister of Australia, to insist that the US must stay in Iraq because to leave would be catastrophic. Howard, you understand, is so concerned about bringing something (who knows what) to Iraq that he has 500 troops stationed in Iraq with another 1,000 around the edges. The US (currently 160,000 troops) must stay in Iraq, argues Howard, while he poines up the laughable number of 500. His Minister of Defence, Brendan Nelson, raised eye brows last week when he told Australia's ABC radio that the reason for the illegal war is oil. Meanwhile, Australia is still talking about Howard devising a plan to pull (the limited number of) Australian troops and how it's so top secret even the US White House hasn't been party to the talks.

Another one screaming for 'stay the course' right to hell is British Canon Andrew White who has made a point to dash in and out of Iraq, or rather the heavily fortified Green Zone. Mere months ago, while plugging his latest bad book, White was insisting that the US must stay. And Vicar White, supposedly ministering to Iraqis? Joanna Sugden (Times of London) summed it up best, noting that White "has fled Iraq because of what has been described as 'a serious security threat'." Fled. Presumably under the (unspoken) orders of the Lord Jesus Christ. Take that, Joan of Arc. Howard can flee, White can flee, everyone can flee except Iraqis and the United States?

This as the latest US installed puppet government is in shambles. Last weekend, Lara Logan (CBS News) reported that, July 15th, there was a plan to call for a no confidence vote in the Parliament on Nouri al-Maliki. Speaking with Tony Snow today, Harry Smith (CBS The Early Show) raised that reported issue and Snow didn't even bat an eye as he hurried onto another topic. This as Brian Bennett (Time magazine) files the report asking, "Why is Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki still around? His cabinet seems to be crumbling around him. In April, the bloc allied with Shi'a strongman Moqtada al-Sadr pulled its ministers from Maliki's cabinet in protest of the Prime Minister's reluctance to set a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. (The head offices in key ministries such as health, education and transportation are still empty.) Then, two weeks ago, four Sunni ministers began boycotting al-Maliki's cabinet meetings to protest an arrest warrant issued for a fellow Sunni minister."

The al-Sadr bloc is crucial to al-Maliki if there is a challenge. He can, and has, repeatedly ignored Sunni walk outs throughout his tenure of little over a year. Without support from al-Sadr's his loose grip on power becomes even less secure. Washington installed him and he knew the rules going in, get your cabinet together quickly and pass the oil law. The cabinet did not come together quickly. In fact, al-Maliki missed the Constitutional deadline on that. At which point, he gave himself another deadline (out of whole cloth, his government is not only a puppet, it's also illegitimate). But the understanding was that he would get the oil law passed guaranteeing the theft of Iraqi oil and the enrichment of foreign multin-nationals. Even with the Iraqi Parliament tossing aside their announced summer vacation, the oil law has still not passed. When Time asks why al-Maliki is still around, in print, you better believe most of DC is as well.

While he's worked on that (worked with Americans on that, this is not Iraqi drafted legislation), Iraq still does not have basic resources. Four hours a day of electricity is considered amazing. Potable water is non-existant. In June of 2006, the heavily fortified Green Zone (home of the Iraqi parliament, the US embassy, the press and more) faced a serious attack one Friday as the barricades (Bremer walls) were stormed. Managing to turn back that attack, the response was a 'crackdown.' Since June of 2006, Baghdad has been under 'crackdown' in one form or another. Sometimes it is juiced up, sometimes it is the regular 'crackdown.' Not only has it not stopped the violence, it has destroyed what was one of the regions most cosmopolitan areas. 2007 saw the announcement that barricades would be going up around Baghdad (after the notion of a moat around the capital -- proposed in summer 2006 -- was finally dropped). The barricades are the equivalent of the Bremer walls used to keep people out of the Green Zone. Though the Sunni population in Baghdad has dropped (as has the Jewish population, the Palestinian population and much more), this was to be the answer to stopping the violence once and for all. Or that's how it was sold. To people living in Baghdad they saw it as the walling off of their city and it was the one thing that the Sunnis and Shias could agree on -- they didn't want the Bremer walls.

Out of the country as he, both vice-presidents and the president of Iraq, so often are, al-Maliki held a press conference to note that the walls would cease construction immediately. al-Sadr was against it and that was enough for al-Maliki. But al-Maliki had no weight to throw around. Not only did the US forces continue constructing the walls, they did so with the help of Iraqi forces who were more than happy to share with the press that it didn't matter what al-Maliki said. This would be Iraqi forces that, per the Iraqi constitution, are supposed to be under the control of the prime minister.

About every six weeks or so, al-Maliki will complain to the press about an operation in Iraq (often in Baghdad) that he did not approve of. He will beg and plead for the US to at least inform him if not get his permission.

This is the alleged independent leader of Iraq. He is a puppet. He has not done anything to stem the violence, he has not done to lower the sky rocketing unemployment, he has not done anything about the basic resources. He has worked on the oil law. He has no legitimacy in the eyes of the majority of Iraqis.

Monday, July 09, 2007

HE'S SUCKED UP AND GLAD HANDED BIG CORPORATIONS REPEATEDLY FOR ALL THOSE CORPORATE DONATIONS BUT SENATOR BARACK OBAMA JUST CAN'T SEEM TO PULL AHEAD OF SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON IN THE POLLING FOR WHICH DEMOCRAT AMERICA WOULD LIKE TO SEE AS PRESIDENT.

NASTY BUSINESS, MICHELLE? YOU WANT TO TALK TO US ABOUT WHAT YOUR HUSBAND'S CAMPAIGN DID TO JERI RYAN? YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT HOW YOUR TRASHY HUSBAND RAN A WOMAN'S NAME THROUGH THE MUD TO DESTROY HER EX-HUSBAND WHO WAS RUNNING AGAINST OBAMA?

MICHELLE OBAMA IS CORRECT, IT IS A TEST FOR VOTERS. WILL THEY VOTE FOR A QUALIFIED CANDIDATE OR WILL THEY VOTE FOR HER HUSBAND?

HAVING SMEARED HIS 2004 DEMOCRATIC OPPONENT WITH RUMORS OF BEING A WIFE BEATER, HAVING SMEARED HIS THEN 2005 REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE WITH WHAT HAD BEEN SEALED COURT RECORDS ABOUT A DIVORCE, BARACK OBAMA'S ALREADY BEEN CAUGHT PLANTING RUMORS ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON IN THE PRESS AND USING RACIST LANGUAGE.

WAS THAT HIS WHITE HALF TALKING? WHO KNOWS WITH BI-RACIAL OBAMA? BUT IT IS A TEST AND SO FAR THE PRESS IS FAILING. WE DO, HOWEVER, HAVE HOPE IN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

On June 27th, Gordon Brown took the office of Prime Minister. Since then, the UK has lost 6 soldiers in Iraq. His predecessor, Tony Blair, made the news as his former director of communication, Alastair Campbell, publishes a book entitled The Blair Years which reveals, among other things, that when then US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared the United States would go to illegal war with/on Iraq even if Britain wasn't joining them, Poodle Blair "went bonkers". Andrew Grice (Independent of London) observes that Campbell sees the book as a chance to have first crack at writing (rewriting) the Poodle's history and that he downplays debate about the illegal war while also, hand on heart, claiming sorrow over the death of David Kelly, the British scientist who may or may not have taken his own life but died shortly after it was revealed he was the source for the BBC reporting that the Blair government was "sexing up" intelligence, which they, indeed were. Blair also made the mushroom cloud claims and the Times of London's reporting on the Downing Street Memos revealed that the Blair government was aware the US was "fixing" intelligence to make it fit their desires for illegal war. Michael Smith (Times of London, June 12, 2005) on more DSMs -- this time a briefing paper: "Ministers were warned in July 2002 that Britain was committed to taking part in an American-led invasion of Iraq and they had no choice but to find a way of making it legal. . . . The briefing paper, for participants at a meeting of Blair's inner cricle on July 23, 3003, said that since regime change was illegal it was 'necessary to create the conditions' which would make it legal. This was required because, even if ministers decided Britain should not take part in an invasion, the American military would be using British bases. This would automatically make Britain complicit in any illegal US action."

Illegal war it what is. Many grasp that. One that does Ehren Watada who refused to deploy to Iraq and became the first commissioned officer to do so publicly in the US. Watada took that public stand in June 2007. In February 2007 he was court-martialed. Judge Toilet, aka John Head, declared a mistrial -- over defense objection -- when the prosecution was clearly losing. (This has been addressed repeatedly at community sites. For the most recent writing on this topic, click here.) On Friday, at Fort Hood, pre-trial motions were heard. Adam Lynn (The News Tribune) reported two developments -- Judge Toilet refused the request that he "disqualify himself from the case, despite arguments from Watada's new attorneys that there is at least the appearance that Head cannot be impartial in this matter. Head then ruled that trying Watada again wouldn't violate his constitutional right not to be prosecuted twice for the same crime, also known as double jeopardy." Helen Altonn(Honolulu Star-Bulletin) spoke with Eric Seitz (Watada's civilian attorney for the first court-martial, he is now being represented by civilian attorneys James Lobsenz and Kenneth Kagan) who sees that Army Court of Appeals taking "the issue far more seriously than Judge Head is capable of doing. I would never expect Judge Head to reverse himself but would certainly expect the Appellate Court to do that. He was not the most competent udge I've met in my life." Robert Watada, Ehren's father, told Altonn that he wasn't surprised by Judge Toilet's behavior, "My own assessment is that it (the military court proceeding) was very much like a Salem witch trial. We fully expected this." Altonn notes many do not believe the court-martial (if the Appeals Court rules it can go foward) will begin as scheduled on July 23rd but will more likely be held in October. Noting the various groups and people supporting Watada, L.A. Chung (San Jose Mercury News) wrote that "what impresses me most are the membrs of the Heart Mountain draft resisters. They know all about taking an unpopular stand on principle. These are people like Mits Koshiyama in San Jose, Frank Emi and Youshi Kuromiya in Los Angeles, and others. They know the personal cost can still resonate and sting, even after 60 years. Heart Mountain, Wyo. is where so many Japanese-Americans from Santa Clara County were interned during World War II. A group called Fair Play Committe rose up in reaction to a move to draft young men from the camps to fight in the segregated -- and storied -- Army unit, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Branded as draft resisters and condemned by leading community organization -- the Japanese American Citizens League -- the committee persevered through their trial on principle."

which just concluded a bus tour. Amy Renczkowski (Conn.'s The Day) reports on last week's stop in Groton and quotes Jimmy Massey stating, "We're going out in the communities with fliers, interacting with military members that would talk to us." Click here to read their blogging of the bus tour and click here for photos of the tour. Adam Kokesh who was, obviously, on that bus tour has also blogged about it at his site. In addition, Holiday Dmitri (Radar magazine) profiled Kokesh a few weeks ago and deserves credit for being the only member of the press thus far to cite Schacht v. US -- the Supreme Court case that is on the side of Kokesh and anyone else wearing partial or full military drag in any theaterical production including street theater. [You can also click here and read a transcript of an ass hole talking. A scared and frightened one -- so old it's now missing its prostate.] Friday, we noted Joel Bleifuss "The New Children's Crusade" (In These Times) and the article, which notes IVAW is modeled after Vietnam Veterans Against the War, will be available online Friday the 13th and is in the August issue of In These Times.